


while collecting the stars

by flusteredkeith



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blossoming relationship, Canon Timeline, Canon Universe, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Just a short piece of fluff for this tragic couple, Season 3 Spoilers, Zanerva, it wasn't always this dark for them, loosely based on the iconic library scene from Beauty and the Beast, that's my hope anyways
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-13 19:29:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11766804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flusteredkeith/pseuds/flusteredkeith
Summary: Because while Honerva wants to discover all the secrets of the universe, Zarkon gazes into her eyes and decides he’s already found it.





	while collecting the stars

**Author's Note:**

> I've been thinking so much about S3 and Zarkon/Haggar's backstory made me so sad. Then I realized at some point that it reminded me of Beauty and the Beast in reverse: Honerva was a beautiful and brilliant scientist who went down the wrong path and dragged Zarkon with her into darkness. I thought it was interesting so I picked out one of my favorite iconic scenes from BatB and tried to write something from it!
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)
> 
> edit: changed the title :D took it from "Jupiter - Sleeping At Last"

“This had better be good,” she warns. “You know I don't like surprises.”

Her voice is laced with skepticism, so certain of disappointment, so determined to remain unmoved. And it really shouldn't surprise him; by nature, Honerva is a skeptic. The one who assumes they know all will never push further, but she who approaches the world with doubt will never stop discovering. Zarkon has learned to accept this: it’s this exact trait that makes her mind so beautiful. Expansive like the universe, her thoughts have no limits, often stretching far and beyond their own reality.

“I know you don't,” he reassures her as he tugs her along by the hand. “But until you know what it is, won't you reserve your judgement until you've seen it?”

They're walking down the main passageway of his fortress, past the dining hall, past the servants’ quarters.

“That is the definition of a surprise,” she states, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “And the exact reason I don't like them. I don’t reserve judgments. I adapt them.”

For someone so skeptical, she sure is certain of her own mind. He reflects in wonder at this woman, this paradox, trailing behind him, her head a perfect contradiction of knowing and not knowing. The point where intelligence and adventure meet.

“Well, then. I’m sure you’ll adapt to this one just fine,” Zarkon laughs.

Zarkon quickens his pace when he turns a corner and sees the library up ahead. In just one more turn down the halls and another staircase later, they’ll have arrived at their destination.

“You’re sure?” she asks. “Based on what evidence?”

“Uh—” Zarkon’s eyes shift to the ceiling. As the Emperor and military commander, he knows he’s not unintelligent, but when it comes to witty banter and little quips, he can’t think on his feet quite as fast as she can.

Fortunately, with the amount of time he’s been progressively spending with Honerva, he’s learning to catch up.

“Well,” he tries, casting about for ideas. “Based on your previous patterns of interest, it would seem likely that you will like this surprise.”

“Oh?” she smirks. “And are you prepared to be held accountable to that should your conjecture turn out to be false?”

Zarkon tightens his lips as he leads her down the stairs at the furthest end of the left wing. It feels like a trap she’s cornered him in, but he intends to remain strong.

“Yes.”

He hears a soft chuckle behind him and steals a shifty-eyed glance back at her. Honerva is most known for being a brilliant alchemist, but nobody talks enough about the radiance of her smile. Zarkon supposes he should feel grateful about that. It’s one secret he can keep to himself.

As they come upon closed, steel doors at the bottom of the staircase, Zarkon’s heart begins to race. He's been thinking about this moment for a few quintants now and has imagined the look on her face when she sees what’s behind those doors. He wants nothing more than for this to go well.

Stopping in front of the doors, he turns around to face her.

“Now close your eyes,” he says with a grin.

“That is quite possibly the one way you could've made this experience worse,” she quips, though Zarkon can tell she's trying not to grin.

“Trust me on this,” he says, reaching up a hand to cup her face. “Even if you don’t like surprises, can you at least do that? Trust me?”

She gives a cute little pout and crosses her arms.

“You know I don’t trust anything,” she says.

She could be so stubborn sometimes, he thinks, and yet, somehow, it only made her all the more riveting.

“Please, Honerva,” he implores, brushing her bangs out of her face with his thumb. “It’s just me.”

With a small quirk of her lips, she smiles and blinks up at him.

“Alright then,” she says before closing her eyes. “Lead the way.”

“No peeking,” he tells her as he slowly backs into the doors behind him, keeping his eyes fixed on her.

“No peeking,” she repeats, holding out her arms to him. “Let’s get this over with.”

With a huge grin, Zarkon takes both her hands in his and backs into the room, pulling her gently along as he pushes open the doors.

The smell of rust and chemicals reaches them but Honerva keeps her eyes shut. He leads her further into the room beneath the stale lights, which bounce off the walls with a deep, purple glow. Weaving around a table full of chemicals and lab equipment, he brings her towards the center and comes to a stop.

“Can I open them now?” Honerva asks, turning her head back and forth as though she’s looking around with her eyes closed. She sniffs the room with a frown and hums in thought.

“Wait,” Zarkon says. He lets go of her hands and backs away from her, giving her more room to marvel when she sees the place.

“Okay. Now.”

Honerva’s eyes flutter open and her mouth parts. She revolves around in place, taking in the machineries, the tools, the equipment, the vials of chemicals, basking in all the glory of Galra tech science. Her lips widen into a full fledged smile as she continues to turn, like a dancer twirling in joy. After a full circle, she slows to a stop and her eyes fall upon Zarkon standing before her.

“Do you… like it?” he asks, taking a few steps closer to her.

It was worth it, he thinks, just to see her eyes light up like this, her smile wide and bright as she glows with excitement.

“I love it,” she says. “All this Galra tech will come in useful for my research — if I may use it, of course.”

“If?” he chuckles. “If you like it all that much, it’s yours.”

“Thank you,” Honerva smiles. Stepping forward, she reaches out a hand and places it over his right one, sending a shower of sparks coursing through him from the point of contact. She doesn’t seem to notice, however, as she draws even closer to him still.

And before he knows it, Zarkon feels the breath escape from his lungs as she buries her head in his chest, her arms coming up to wrap around his back. She’s never shown him an ounce of physical affection before this and he has no idea what to do about it.

“Um,” he says intelligently before bringing a hand up to pat her gently on the back. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Are you kidding?” Honerva exclaims, tilting her head up to look at him. “With this equipment combined with King Alfor’s, I’ll be further along the rift project than ever before. I’ll have the entire galaxy at my feet and the tools to explore it. Possibly even to the furthest reaches of another reality!”

She twirls out of his arms and hovers over one of the tables, inspecting one of the machines closely. For the umpteenth time, Zarkon reflects how beautiful she is as she buzzes, full of life, with excitement around the room. Although King Alfor has told him what a great military strategist he is, he feels a whole new world open up to him when he observes the way Honerva thinks. Zarkon is intelligent in his own way perhaps, but seeing her approach each new data point with renewed vigor and a deep thirst for more… it sends an intense chill down his spine, and with it, the electrifying sensation of power — like anything is possible if he simply has enough drive.

It hits him right then that he wants to do this forever. Dive straight into Honerva’s mind and explore new adventures through her curious eyes, her far-reaching mind, and her eager wonder of the world and how everything works. And as he looks over at her and catches her smiling to herself, a bubbling warmth fills his chest. Because while Honerva wants to discover all the secrets of the universe, Zarkon gazes into her eyes and decides he’s already found it.

“I will arrange for this equipment to be moved tomorrow,” Zarkon tells her. She beams up at him then beckons him to lean in closer with her finger.

“I’ve got a secret for you,” she says with a smirk. Bending his knees, he lowers himself until his ear is level with her mouth. What happens next stops his heart — her hand on his wrist and a pair of soft lips brushing swiftly over his cheek.

He flusters and straightens up, reaching a hand up to cover his face.

“Honevera, I—”

“Thank you, Zarkon,” she smiles.

“Um, you’re welcome,” he says, grinning weakly. After a moment’s pause of him awkwardly scratching his head, he adds, “So… it seems I was right. You did adapt to the surprise quite well.”

Honerva lets out a strange giggling noise between a snort and a cackle. Zarkon blinks in confusion as she turns away to fiddle with one of the devices on the countertop beside her.

“What is it?” he asks, feeling slightly worried.

“I deduced where we were heading while we were still in the main hall,” she replies.

“So…”

“So that’s my other secret for today,” Honerva confesses. She turns back to look at him, her eyes filled with mirth. “It wasn’t a surprise at all.”

She winks at him and he swears — his universe stops moving.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hello to me on tumblr [@flusteredkeith](https://flusteredkeith.tumblr.com)!
> 
> If you liked this work, check out some of my other recent works!
> 
> [come morning light](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11740683): a very short little soft, Sheith drabble I wrote to soothe my S3 wounds. I have to say it worked for me. I hope it'll work for you too~
> 
> [tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11677323): Sheith, multichapter, Edge of Tomorrow AU (aka military sci-fi meets groundhog's day) - written for the Voltron Big Bang.
> 
> [safe in your arms](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11668338): a short Sheith oneshot where Shiro sleepwalks and Keith comes find him
> 
> [once in a sunset](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11458449): a Plance oneshot where Lance comforts Pidge.
> 
> [shop til your heart drops](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10943253): Kallura fic where Allura takes Keith to the mall in attempts to try and figure out what he wants for his birthday. Shenanigans and feelings ensue.


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